An issue of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) bonds fell 0.4% as a percentage of their face value during trading on Monday. The high-yield debt issue has a 7% coupon and is set to mature on December 1, 2019. The bonds in the issue are now trading at $103.13. Price changes in a company’s bonds in credit markets sometimes predict parallel changes in its share price.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MERC shares. Zacks Investment Research raised Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 29th. TheStreet lowered Mercer International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 17th. Finally, RBC Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mercer International in a report on Saturday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Mercer International currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.13.

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) traded down 0.52% during midday trading on Monday, reaching $9.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $614.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.40. Mercer International Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.95 and a 1-year high of $10.98.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 20th. Mercer International’s payout ratio is presently 79.31%.

In related news, major shareholder Peter R. Kellogg bought 54,648 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.30 per share, for a total transaction of $453,578.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 2,761,669 shares in the company, valued at $22,921,852.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Peter R. Kellogg bought 10,159 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.76 per share, with a total value of $78,833.84. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 2,657,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,621,175.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acrospire Investment Management LLC raised its position in Mercer International by 10.3% in the second quarter. Acrospire Investment Management LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management acquired a new position in Mercer International during the third quarter valued at about $104,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Mercer International by 546.9% in the second quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 15,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 13,225 shares during the period. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC raised its position in Mercer International by 3.9% in the second quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 20,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Associates Ltd. OH acquired a new position in Mercer International during the second quarter valued at about $249,000. 81.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.